MLB Player News

Skubal won't start as scheduled Friday as the doubleheader against the Twins was postponed due to weather, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The start of Game 1 had already been delayed, and the prospects of playing for the rest of the day weren't promising, leading to the postponement. A doubleheader will now be scheduled for Saturday, and Skubal will start Game 2, while Matthew Boyd starts in the matinee.

Skubal will start Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader against the Twins, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old was originally slated to start Game 2, but the Tigers decided to make a late change to their rotation plans. Skubal has covered 4.1 innings over his first two starts, allowing five runs on 10 hits with a 6:2 K:BB.

Boyd is no longer starting Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader against the Twins, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Boyd was expected to take the mound for the matinee, but the Tigers are now bumping up Tarik Skubal to start for undisclosed reasons. The Twins shifted their starting plans for the twin bill due to rain forecasted for the afternoon, but it's unclear if that's the reasoning for the Tigers' change in starters as well. There was no indication of any injury, so Boyd tentatively lines up to start Game 2 until the team updates his status.

Morton (shoulder) will throw one more bullpen session before the Rays consider reinserting him into the rotation, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The veteran right-hander completed a simulated game Thursday and threw 25-to-30 pitches, but the team wants at least one more session on the mound before making a decision. If all goes well in the next bullpen session, Morton could rejoin the starting rotation sometime next week, though he's unlikely to be built up to a full workload by that point.

Bassitt will start Friday against the Astros, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander was set to start Thursday against the Rangers, but both team agreed not to play as part of the recent league-wide protests. Bassitt has a 2.97 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 28:9 K:BB through 33.2 innings this season.

Ryu will start Friday against the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

The 33-year-old was slated to start Thursday against the Red Sox, but the game was one of the many postponed in protest of the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake. Ryu has a 1.23 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 24:5 K:BB over his past five starts.

Means will start Friday against the Blue Jays, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

As expected, he will take his normal turn in the rotation after his scheduled start Thursday was postponed. Both Means and Jays starter Hyun Jin Ryu will be pitching on an extra day of rest.

Paxton (forearm) is "a little far away" from returning, according to general manager Brian Cashman, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

This makes it seem like Paxton could be done for the season, and at the very least is weeks and not days away from returning. The Yankees are set to play 18 games in the next 15 days and they only have four healthy members of the rotation. Top prospect Clarke Schmidt was ruled out by manager Aaron Boone as an option to come up this weekend, so there could be some bullpen games on tap for the Yankees in the coming weeks. They will also likely be active prior to Monday's trade deadline.

Eovaldi (calf) will start Sunday against the Nationals, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Eovaldi's next turn had been pushed back to Saturday because of cramping in his right calf, but then Boston rejiggered its rotation following Thursday's postponement. The series against the Nationals lines up as Martin Perez throwing Friday, Chris Mazza on Saturday and Eovaldi in the series finale.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated Thursday that he "wouldn't expect" Schmidt to be called up this weekend despite the team playing five games in three days, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

If ever there was a time for the Yankees to summon their top pitching prospect this season it would appear to be now, with the team playing doubleheaders against the Mets on Friday and Sunday. However, Boone's comments suggest that the organization is committed to keeping Schmidt off the big-league roster, a decision likely centered around his lack of experience beyond the Double-A level and current absence from the 40-man roster. Assuming Schmidt or another starter isn't summoned from the team's alternate training site, New York is likely to rely upon a bullpen game for at least one half of both of this weekend's twin bills.